He Hit a $120M Exit Before Age 40

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Millionaires are surprisingly normal, they just do a couple things different.

Welcome to another issue of Passionate Income.

Today, we’ll be discussing 5 lessons I learned working directly with a founder who exited his company for $120M before age 40.

Let’s dive in.

#1 - Take On More Responsibility

Responsibility is arguably the #1 trait that separates children from adults. As a child, we have excuses and justifications for our failures. Sadly, most people extend this victimhood, blame-game mentality into adulthood. They blame the government, their spouse, etc. for their failures.

But if you want to succeed, you have to take responsibility. You have to realize your current life status is a direct result of your past decisions. Which also means if you make better decisions today, your future status will improve.

#2 - Slow Down and “Smell the Roses”

In a society that’s obsessed with status and achievement, it’s easy to get caught up chasing goals. From working long hours to avoiding your favorite goods, we’re constantly making sacrifices to try and hit our goals faster.

The only problem is, no matter how big the goal, the fulfillment you get from hitting it never feels as good as you think it will. In fact, in most cases, it wears off in a matter of weeks (if not days).

So yes, work hard. But don’t become so obsessed you forget to enjoy life. Follow enough people who exited their companies for huge $$$ and you’ll quickly realize they’re no happier or more fulfilled than the average person.

#3 - Make Decisiveness a Virtue

One problem intelligent people have in business is that they believe they can think their way out of avoiding problems. This traces back to their success in school, where studying and memorizing, etc. helped them “succeed” (get good grades). Which, in turn, created a positive reinforcement loop.

In business, however, you can’t think your way out of failure. You can’t analyze every future hypothetical under the sun to avoid risk. And because of that, thinkers get punished. So what’s the more productive solution?

Decide > Take Action > Assess Your Results > Adjust > Repeat

Everything starts with deciding and taking action. This is arguably the #1 trait that separates these guys from everyone else: They don’t overthink shit. They just make decisions, act on them and adjust as they go. Over and over again.

#4 - Forget About Your “Passion” (For Now)

“Build your first business around your talents. Build your second one around your passion.”

What millionaires understand is that it’s 1000x easier to start a business around your passion when you don’t need it to make money. As an example, surfers are highly passionate. But there’s very little money to be made in the industry. So what makes more sense?

Building a regular business for 5 years, then exiting it for a couple million so you can spend the rest of your life surfing? Or building some BS “surf business” that makes so little profit you’ll have to work until you’re 75?

Hopefully, the answer is obvious to you. I’ve seen people struggle for years - decades even - because they’re so obsessed with their “passion” they refuse to acknowledge the realities of the marketplace.

The irony is, if they would have spent half of that time building a regular business, they’d be so rich they could retire and enjoy their passion 24/7.

#5 - Think On a Longer Time Horizon

In addition to being decisive, all the guys I know who’ve exited for 9-figures think on years and decades long time-horizons. On the flip side, the average person thinks in terms of today, tomorrow and next week.

See, most of these successful business guys are pretty normal actually.

But the one thing they do different is pick the right business model and work at it forever. In the case of the guy who’s the basis of today’s newsletter, he built his company from $0 to a $120M exit over the course of 12 YEARS.

Sadly, most people can’t do one thing for 12 weeks before they give up. Which is why, right up there with being decisive, thinking on long time horizons is what separates wealthy entrepreneurs from everyone else.

💡 Takeaway: For most people, the idea of making one hundred million dollars is insane. Impossible to fathom. But as someone who’s worked side-by-side with multiple people who’ve exited for 9-figures, I can tell you you right now:

They’re way more normal than you think.

In many cases, they were no smarter, richer or more plugged in than you or I when they started. They just chose the right business model, didn’t get distracted, and made the right decisions over a long period of time.

I'll leave you with this quote…

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